RUSSELL HOBBS STYLIS 14590 Kettle

Since having my own home over thirty years ago I've actually (understandably I would think) lost
count of the number of kettles I've owned. I can still remember some of them though and remember the first which was a wedding present and made by Haden. Amongst my previous kettles have been white, beige and silver coloured kettles made by several manufacturers. Once, when I felt my electric kettles weren't lasting long and money was tight, I even bought an old fashioned steam kettle which fitted on the hob and whistled on reaching boiling point. But I've moved with the times and my last kettle was electric and of a brushed silver colour. It lasted well. But a few months back it was becoming troublesome; it didn't want to switch on, or remain on, and so a new kettle became an essential purchase. I don't mind buying different brands of kettles but admit to preferring to buy a well known brand rather than a store's own.

WHAT I LOOK FOR IN A KETTLE

I admit to being very choosy with appliances such as this, mainly due to the fact that I have problems with hands and wrists, so have to be careful that an item isn't too heavy or awkward to use.

For many buying a new kettle will be an easy thing to do and probably the main considerations before making a purchase would be price and colour, and perhaps a few other specifications might come into the equation but with me, if I want ease of us then there is more to be considered. I actually looked at lots of kettles before making this purchase.

Prior to buying I found that many kettles had (for me) a difficult lid opening mechanism and I couldn't easily operate these; with many kettles I had to place the kettle down on a work surface to be able to open. Not difficult, I know, but I wanted to be able to open the lid whilst lifting on the way to the tap.

I also found many designs although looking good were heavy whilst empty and so felt that I wouldn't want to be lifting them when full of water. Weight has to be a main consideration for me.

I didn't want a white kettle because my kitchen is mainly brushed satin/silver and black in the way of accessories, along with black and grey flooring and beach units. I prefer things to co-ordinate pretty much, as well as steering away from white, as I feel white appliances are harder to keep in a pristine condition.

I am only interested in cordless kettles.

Of course price was also a big consideration and I decided that I didn't want to pay more than £35 for a kettle.

WHY I CHOSE THIS ONE

(Design, colour, appearance, weight etc)

After a fairly thorough search I came across the Russell Hobbs Stylis 14590 Kettle.

I was immediately drawn to the design of this tall, cordless jug kettle, liking its mainly black and glossy appearance enhanced by a touch of silver on the lid and on its base. I thought it looked expensive by its modern and, in my opinion, stylish design. Also, as the material used is mainly plastic it is of a lighter weight than many kettles on the market making it easy to use. I like the fact that while this kettle has a large capacity of 1.7 litres it is still light enough for ease of use, especially for those with similar problems to me. Of course, if I didn't have as many living in my home I might have chosen a smaller model of kettle but as there are six people living in my house at the moment I think this is the most suitable size for our needs as a family. And we do like our tea!

I have found that after using this kettle for a few months that I can truly say that the design is good for me. However, I would say that it is quite tall. This is fine for me as my kitchen sink is deep and the mixer taps high, but if you have a sink with low taps and a shallow sink basin then a shorter design of kettle might be preferable. I can fill this kettle while holding it over the sink basin or if using the half bowl then it needs to be tilted slightly.

SPEED

It is quick. It's the fastest boiler I've had, as yet. I found that it took 2.08 minutes to boil one litre of water taken from the cold tap. It doesn't' take much longer to boil a full kettle of water.

WATER FILL INDICATOR

This is important, I think. The clear panel on the kettle has volume markings from 0.5 to 1.7 litres. This is easy to see.

COLOUR CHANGE

This interested me from a novelty aspect but didn't influence any buying decision. As the kettle is switched on to boil the colour on the clear side panel turns to a blue/purple colour and when reaching boiling reverts to clear.

NOISE LEVEL

As my last kettle was noisy this one seems quiet in comparison. It does make some noise but I think, because it boils so quickly this wouldn't be an issue. I would think the noise level is comparable to most kettles of similar specifications.

BASE

The base is super. The kettle fits easily and securely onto this base which has a 360 degree rotation. We have one left hander in the house and this is a useful feature for him as he is known to often make tea or coffee.

The underneath of the base cleverly stores the cord which makes for neatness and ease if wishing to take the kettle away from its home.

FLEX

My tape measure seems to have gone walkabout so I can't, at the moment, give accurate measurements of the cord length but I would estimate it is as to being a little less than one metre in length. This suits me as I have a good place for the kettle in my kitchen next to a power point. In fact I don't think kettles usually have long cord lengths for safety aspects (e.g. the cord being pulled while the kettle contains boiling water with the potential to scald someone)

As already mentioned, the cord can be stored in the base.

FILLING THE KETTLE

Well, it's easy to fill from the tap either by clicking the well placed button on the top of the handle. This is easily done and the lid opens for filling. But the spout is wide enough to fill even without opening the lid; another useful feature, I find.

ELEMENT

The Russell Hobbs Stylis (14590) has a concealed element in its base which is another feature that I like. I hate it when the element shows and it starts to become scaled.

FILTER

This kettle has a removable filter. The filter can be removed in a second or two to be washed.

EXTRA FEATURES

This kettle has a safety cut out which should prevent it from boiling dry if the on/off switch stopped working. Hopefully, this won't be needed but I think it is a necessary feature to have on a kettle.

Here are just a few possibly useful things to know about this kettle

SIZE

Height-26.5cm, Depth-21cm

WHERE TO BUY

I bought mine from Ada Living and at the time of buying had seen this kettle on sale for about £35 and more in some places. It was the last one in stock in that particular branch.

The Russell Hobbs Stylis 14590 Kettle can be purchased from:

Asda- £20

Russell Hobbs- £24.99

Amazon- £24.99